Hopkinson, Francis (
1737-
1791), an
American author, and one of the signers of the
Declaration of Independence, was born at
Philadelphia in 1737. He studied at the college of Philadelphia, and after graduating in
1763, resolved to prepare himself for the legal profession. After being admitted to the bar in
1765 he spent two years in
England, and on his return in
1768 he obtained a lucrative public appointment in
New Jersey. In
1776-
1777 he represented that state in Congress
?. In
1779 he was appointed judge of admiralty for
Pennsylvania, and in
1790 district judge for the same state. He died at Philadelphia on
May 9 1791. Hopkinson was the author of several songs to which he wrote popular
airs, and of various political poems, pamphlets, and
jeux d'esprit, which from their humorous satire had a wide circulation, and powerfully asssisted in arousing and fostering the spirit of political independence that issued in the
American Revolution.
His principal writings are The Pretty Story 1774; The prophecy 1776; The Political Catchism 1777. Among his songs may be mentioned The Treaty, The Battle of the Kegs, and The New Roof, a song for Federal Mechanics; and the best known of his satirical pieces are Typographical Method of conducting a Quarrel, Essay on White Washing, and Modern Learning. His Miscellaneous Essays and Occasional Writings were published at Philadelphia in three volumes in 1792.
Original text taken from a paper copy of a famous 1881 encyclopedia that for trademark reasons must remain unnamed.
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